


A Painted Meeting

by JediIlonaShepard



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, First Meeting, New York City, Painting, art gallery, thieves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 04:52:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8519194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediIlonaShepard/pseuds/JediIlonaShepard
Summary: Kasumi Goto and Keiji Okuda first meet at the art gallery during the evening in New York City and introduce each otherwith their respective assumed identities.As for Kasumi herself, it was love at first sight.Little do they know, that one another is a thief and planing to come back and steal the painting.





	1. First Meeting

_**Saturday, May, 13th 2180, 5:07 pm** _

It was a nice quiet evening at the _Starlight Quest _Hotel in New York city, in every building were lights of hotel rooms.__

__The master thief and hacker, Kasumi Goto was hired by an art collector named Douglas Waldman,  
to steal a painting from an art gallery._ _

__

__Kasumi was a young girl when her skills in thievery were discovered by a band of thieves who were known as _Kurai kage_._ _

__They had her join them and trained her in stealth and combat._ _

__When she was fifteen, Goto got her purple markings tattoed on her bottom lip and beneath her bottom lip as everone  
else in the gang had them, and was given the code name _The Red Rose_. _ _

__But when the goverment decided to bring down the _Kurai kage_ , the group disbanded, and  
Kasumi took a shuttle off-world._ _

__Kasumi became a master thief, thus donning her black and grey hooded catsuit and a cloaking device._ _

__

__She even had a greybox surgically implanted inside her own brain._ _

__

__During her years as a thief, Kasumi would use a single red rose(Because of her given code name)  
as her calling card, thus leaving it in place of whatever item she stole.  _ _

__Also, she always needed to watch her step to never become famous._ _

__

__Whenever Goto would visit Japan, Kasumi would dress up as an ordinary citizen named Suki Kimoto and would  
use tattoo cover up and dark purple lipstick or use a sick mask to hide her lip tattoos.  _ _

__Just in case the former members of the Kurai kage were still being hunted down._ _

__

__A while ago, The master thief rescued a young artist named Clairece when she was kidnapped by  
slavers who planned to sell her on Omega._ _

__In return, Clairece gave her a painting as a token of gratitude for saving her and bringing her back to her family._ _

__

There was a huge art gallery show later tonight at 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm, And Kasumi wanted to make sure she   
was ready and be there on time for it.  
 

__The master thief has got out of the shower in her hotel room and dried her herself with a towel, She then threw  
the towel onto the toilet seat put on her terry hair wrap and her bathrobe and walked out into the bedroom._ _

__

__Laying on the bed was the medium long cerise satin halter dress with matching gloves, along  
with black lace underwear with matching basque, and a pair of sheer black stockings with seams at the back._ _

__On the floor next to the bed are the dark red velvet high heel shoes, and on the dressing table was the ticket to the  
art show, along with her cerise hand purse her small black jewelry case and small black make-up case._ _

__

__Kasumi walked to the dressing table and sat down._ _

__She removed the hair wrap and combed her long silky black hair._ _

__

__Afterwords, She walked over to the bed, took off her robe and started getting dressed._ _

__

__She put on her basque and underwear and  sliped on the stockings, and attatched them to the basque's suspenders._ _

__Then while standing in front of a large mirror, she zipped up her dress at the back._ _

__

__Kasumi went back to the dressing table, she then styled it into a bubbly hair bun._ _

__

__Next, She got out her light purple eye shadow and  eye liner then applied them to her eyelids.  Then she got  
out the tattoo cover-up and smeared it under her bottom lip and appiled lipstick to both her lips._ _

__Then, Kasumi took a small red bottle of rose oil.  She removed the cap, dabbed the oil on one  
finger and smeared it on each side of her neck._ _

__Afterwords, she twisted the cap back on._ _

__

__The thief took some jewlery from her case, and put on a gold ropechain necklace around her neck._ _

__She then clipped her gold earrings on both earlobes._ _

__Kasumi went back to the bed and slipped on her matching gloves._ _

__

__She went back to the dressing table once more and put the gold rope chain bracelet on her right wrist and pinned her broach  
onto the left side of her dress._ _

__

__After checking her appearance, making sure nothing's smeared or anything... Kasumi put the make-up back into the case._ _

__She then grabbed the ticket and the hotel keycard, then put in her purse._ _

__

__'Time to go' She thought to herself as she turned out the lights and left the room._ _

__

__\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
                              _ **5:57 pm**__ _

__It would only be three minutes before the doors would open to the puplic._ _

__

__Kasumi  felt the coolness of the evening air blowing gently on her skin as she stepped out of the aircab,and walked over  
to the huge crowds of people as they  stood outside the tall bulding while street lights shined brightly in the evening,  
and observed them, all dressed in formal clothing and neatly done hair. 

__Women with wore strapless dresses while others wore spaghetti straps and fur coats. most of them wore perfume._ _

__Men wore fine suits and some have ties, bowties, and no ties at all._ _

__From the way they're dressed there was no doubt that  those people were wealthy and owned alot:  
Yachts, luxury condos or estates, Sports aircars, companies, ect._ _

_'I wonder what priceless treasures they have in their vaults or huge wallsafes....'_ Kasumi thought.

 

_'Hmmm....  Guess I should to find out where these people live.'_

__

__Still her priority was to locate the painting within the art gallery so she would come back later to steal it._ _

__

__Three minutes passed and the doors opened, allowing every one to walk in and showed the doorman their tickets._ _

__Kasumi took hers out of the handpurse, showed it to the doorman and went in through the front door._ _

__

__Inside the art gallery, people stood around, drinking wine, chatting, and looking at works of art.  
such as paintings, sculptures, vases, pottery, and statues._ _

__

__There were paintings that were surreal, while others were nazarene and pointillism._ _

__All being guarded by dark red velvet ropes._ _

__

__Then the thief took a filled wineglass into her hands and walked around as though she was  
browsing through the gallery, But in truth however, she was looking for the location of the painting._ _

__So to keep anyone from suspecting her, she was to act and walk casualy._ _

__

__She turned to the right then the left and around the courner._ _

__

__Their behind the red velvet ropes, right between the contemporain sculpture and the clay pot  
was the framless, black, white, and grey painting hanging on the green wall._ _

__Kasumi approached it carefuly as if not to disturb anything._ _

__She found it._ _

__It was the painting that she had been hired to steal, and knows where it's located at._ _

__From her own perspective, it looked like a bright sun shining down on the ruins of either a city or a temple._ _

__

__While She stared at it smiling for almost four minutes, Kasumi took a glass of wine and took a sip of it._ _

__It was the best tasting wine she ever had._ _

__And that painting had She found was so astonishing and awe-inspiring.....  
It perhapes why Mr. Waldman wanted this painting, and why her hired her......_ _

__

__"So, Enjoying the painting?" The man's voice asked._ _

__"Yes I am.... " Kasumi replied as she calmly turned around and saw a man standing with a filled wineglass in his hand._ _

__The man joined Kasumi to look at the painting._ _

__From the looks of him and the smirk on his lips, He was very Impressed with the painting._ _

__He was somewhere in his twenties and he had neatly combed brown hair, asain slender brown eyes and a goatee._ _

__Also he was wearing a dark blue and gold lined Alliance military uniform, which is no surprise to Kasumi  
since she's seen alot of people wearing military uniforms like this one._ _

__

__Suddenly, The master thief found herself being aroused by the the Alliance officer and she was feeling warm  
tender from within as she blushed._ _

__But then she focused her mind back to her mission, and that is to came back later that night to steal the painting  
and deliver it to Mr. Douglas Waldman...._ _

__"Do you come here often or is this your first time?" He asked, before sipping his wine._ _

__"It's my first time here." She answered. "This art gallery is very breathtaking, and that's one of the reasons  
why I came here to New York City."_ _

__Kasumi realized that she and the Alliance officer were making a conversation._ _

__

__"How long you've been here?" he asked._ _

__

__"Almost a week.." The thief replied, sipping her wine. "I wanted to see what this city is like."_ _

__

__"Same here, I'm here during shore leave....."_ _

__

__"Hmmm... No kidding....."_ _

__

__"Yeah... No kidding...."_ _

__

__"So how long have you been in the Alliance Military?" Kasumi asked._ _

__"Since I enlisted a few days after my nineteenth birthday." He answered. "I wanted to see what it be like  
to serve on warships."_ _

__

__"Mmmm... Hmmmm....." She nodded. "By the way, I don't think I've got your name..."_ _

__"Well, since you want to know," He smiled. "My name is Abraham Rumoi."_ _

__

__"Suki Kimoto..." She replied. shaking hands with the Alliance officer. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Rumoi."_ _

__"And a pleasure to meet you Miss Kimoto." Abraham responded with a smile. "Listen, I better get going.. So... I'll see you sometime  
on my next shore."_ _

__

__"Sure thing Mr. Rumoi," Kasumi replied. "Take care."_ _

__

__"You too Miss Kimoto.." Rumoi replied, as he dissapeared in to crowd._ _

__

___To be continued....._ _ _


	2. Breaking and Entering

It was nineteen minutes before closing time, Kasumi had left the Art gallery early and headed back to her hotel room.

And by that time,  She had it all planned out.... 

 

She had mesmerized the location of the painting and way to break into the gallery and stored her memory in the greybox.

 

The door to the backroom was located near the main entrance of the gallery, In which the backroom there was a door to the  
rooftop of the gallery itself.

 

She would come back later tonight before 11: 47 PM, because that's when the security alarm systems would be activated.  
And she would wait there until 12:00 to retrieve the painting.

 

There was a chance that a few security guards would be wandering the halls in the art gallery, should the alarm systems  
and the cameras be hacked or turned off.

 

If so, she would need to use her cloaking device her to avoid being seen.

 

Kasumi still thought about the man she met back at the art gallery, an alliance officer named Abraham Rumoi.

 

She remembered the way she felt about Rumoi when she first saw him while they were talking about the painting,   
the gallery, New York city, and his career within the alliance.

 

Then she remembered that Mr. Rumoi came up behind her while she looking at the painting that she came to steal later on....

 

Did he follow her knowing that she would unknowingly lead him to the painting? 

Was he planning to come back and steal it too?

 

Kasumi shook those thoughts out, she needed to stay focused on the art gallery heist and get ready. 

 

She stood up and took off the dress, and preceded to get undressed.

 

Kasumi went to her suitcase and got out a plain black underwear and bra, and her grey and black hooded cat suit, and got dressed.

She put her underwear and bra.

Next, she got into her cat suit.

 

She then folded the clothing neatly and  put them all except the shoes on the bed.

 

The master thief the went to the dressing table and undid the bun she made in her hair and brushed it out and made it into a simple ponytail.  
And then she removed her jewlery and put them back in her jewlery case

She went to the bathroom and removed her lipstick and scrubbed away the tattoo cover-up.

 

Kasumi was ready to go.

The first thing she did before walking out through the front door, She put her hood over her head, activated the cloaking device and once again left her hotel room.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                  _**Sunday, May, 14th 2180, 12:00 am**_

 

It was midnight in New York City.

In the dark of night, the moon shined brightly and the stars were scattered everywhere in the night sky.

The streets were quiet and city lights and buildings with lit windows were everywhere. few people walk alone on sidewalks   
and street lights shine brightly as they create shadows of people and other objects.

 

The art gallery was closed for the night, all the security guards, alarms systems, and cameras are working around the clock to make certain  
that no thief would steal anything from the gallery itself.

 

However, this is without a doubt that Kasumi would find this challenge very exciting.

 

The master thief, now wearing her black and grey hooded cat suit, had just returned to the art gallery to finally steal the painting she   
found and give it to her client.

 

The thief approached slowly to the building and saw a few security guards walking around, as if they're searching for an unwanted intruder.

 

She then activated her cloaking device and walked quietly towards the building.

 

Next, she scaled the wall, and climbed her way to the rooftop an decloaked.

 

She walked over to the door that lead to the backroom of the art gallery and prepared to disable the alarm system when much to her  
surprise she found it unlocked.

 

Whenever Kasumi would encounter a locked door or window, She'd use her omni tool to hack open the lock and disable the alarm systems.  
Especially when they proved to be more challenging, in which it was no surprise to the thief herself.

 

She has done so on numerous occasions in many of the systems in the galaxy. 

 

But still she never even expected to find one unlocked. She wondered if another thief had got there first of maybe this was a trap set  
for the thieves who'd come to steal a thing or two from the art gallery.

 

If so, she would have to be very cautious when walking in through the door and not set anything off.

 

So just to play it safe, The thief cloaked and carefully walked in.

 

Kasumi  made her way through the doorway, climbed down stairs and into the backroom.

 

The backroom was very dark and dusty, There were a lot of unhung paintings and a lot of empty unused frames on shelves and  
sculptures standing close to the walls.

 

Then, the thief found another door unlocked.

 

_'What's going on here?'_ She thought shaking her head. _'This is not like security guards to just leave doors unlocked during  
closing time.... There's something weird about this...'_

 

Then Kasumi went on and preceded to find the painting she planned to give to Mr. Waldman. She remembered where   
to locate the painting the same way she did before. 

 

Turn to the right then the left and around the corner.

 

But when she got to the location, she know something wasn't right, The painting between the contemporain sculpture   
and the clay pot was not there.

 

Kasumi was in shock, The painting was not there anymore.

 

"That is not good." The thief whispered to herself. "Mr. Waldman is not going to be happy at all.."

 

Perhaps maybe it was a trap after all,  And it might have been set up by security to really catch a thief and have him or her  
arrested and put behind bars.

 

Kasumi didn't have time to think much more, she needed to get out of there fast. So, she reactivated her cloaking device, and   
went back the same way she came in.

She went through the door to the backroom, and through the door to the roof.

 

As the walked out of the roof access door, She suddenly caught a glimpse of what appeared to a man walking to the edge of the roof  
and she saw in his arms was the painting itself that was missing from the wall.

 

She decided to take the painting from the sneaky man. So, quietly and carefully She approached another thief and cloaked herself invisible.

 

_To be concluded............._


	3. Showdown at Central Park

It was fifteen minutes past midnight in New York city.

Having just removed the painting from the wall of the art gallrey, Keiji Okuda made his way back onto the rooftop, carrying it with  
both his arms over to the edge of the roof.

He prepared to lower the painting safely to the ground with a rope, and climb down the builing himself.

He planned to take it with him back to the hotel without attracting any attention and use a cut out piece of an old bed sheet to   
disguise it as a blank canvas just in case if his suitcase would be searched for the stolen painting.

He would fly to Chicago and deliver it to art collector, Nathan Osborne.

 

Now Keiji has been a thief almost all his life.

 

As a young kid, All he ever wanted was to be a doctor when he grew up.

He wanted to help people and their children make their full recovery from their injuries and illnesses.

But when he was twelve years old,  his father, Natsuko, who was a software designer in Saitama, was laid off from his job,   
and to make matters worse, his family started having money problems.

Natsuko tried effortlessly to find work that would pay well. But so far, no luck.

 

So, In order to help support his family, he became a thief, though there were many times he was caught and brought home by cops.

And there were times he would be grounded.

But over a few months, he got better and better at avoiding being caught red-handed.

 

When his dad finally got back to work, the family got back on their feet,  Keiji stopped being a thief and then things went back to normal.

 

During his eighteenth birthday, Keiji took up skydiving, and had the greybox surgically installed into his own brain.

 

A year later  he left Saitama just after his break-up with his collage sweetheart, and enlisted into the Alliance Military under the name  
Abraham Rumoi.

 

Thus returning to his career as a thief.

 

Keiji remembered a week earlier, he was contacted by Mr. Osborne and was hired to steal the painting from the art gallery in   
New York city before his rival,  Douglas Waldman would get a chance to.

On shore leave, he traveled to the city, checked into the Starlight Quest Hotel, and purchased a ticket to the art gallery.

 

While he was inside the gallery, looking for the painting, He spotted a lovely young asain woman as she walked in through the front door.

Her name was Suki Kimoto.

And she was wearing her black hair  in a bubbly hair bun, and also was wearing dark purple lipstick and a gold broach pinned on the left   
side of her dress.

Suki was wearing a medium long cerise halter dress, with matching gloves, matching hand purse, and dark red velvet high heel shoes.   

She was also wearing a gold ropechain necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings.

 

Keiji wondered who this woman was and from the way she was dressed, it's possable she could either be an heiress of perhapes a socialite.

This however woundn't have surprised him since he's met alot of people who were wealthy and well dressed.

 

Then Suki took one of the filled wine glasses, and started walking around the gallery as though she was looking for something, or someone.....

 

So, wondering what she was up to, he decided to follow her. And carefuly without drawing any unwanted attention.

 

But then something caught the Suki's eye. She started walking towards something.  He continued to follow her without anyone noticing.

When Suki got to the location, she came to the stop.

 

Keiji noticed she was stairing at the painting that was hanging on the wall between the contemporaine sculpture and the big clay pot.  
It was the painting that he was hired to steal for his client.

 

He then turned his attention back to the woman who was sipping her wine and looking at the painting that Mr. Osborne wanted for his  
art collection.

Oddly enough, Suki seem to have something in mind about the painting, so the thief went over to talk to her.

 

Maybe she was planning to buy the painting herself later on.

 

If so he was have to come back later that night to steal it.

 

He even remembered the way she looked at him, and the way she blushed. Maybe it was the alliance uniform that made him look attractive.

And together, they,ve talked about the painting, the art gallery, New York city, his career in the Alliance.

 

Afterwords, They both introduced each other. Then he remembered there was still work to be done so he said he needed to be leaving and that   
he will see her on his next shore leave........

 

Then as Keiji was about to lower to painting to the ground, someone tapped on his shoulder.

 

He turned quikly to see who it was, but nobody was there...

 

"What the hell was that?" Keiji asked himself. shaking his head to focus on getting the painting to his client in Chicago.

 

As Keiji was again about lower to painting to the ground, an invisible finger tapped on his shoulder again and he turned quickly to see   
who was touching him.

This time, he went to investigate and look for someone or something that got his attention for a monent and found nothing in sight. 

 

But still, he could feel someone's presence on the rooftop

 

"Okay, who's there?" He said being prepared for an attack. "Show Yourself."

 

But nothing happand. Was someone or something there? Or was it his wild imagination?

 

But then, found the painting missing.

"What the Hell-?" He asked, frantically searching the rooftop. "Dammit! Where the hell is it?"

 

He looked around for the painting but found no sign of it. and then he looked aorund the walls of the building.

Then he spotted something floating over the dimly lit sidewalk. It was the painting and it was being carried off by an invisible person   
into the shadows.

"Oh... very funny...." Keiji whispered sarcastically.

 

He didn't have time to think, He quickly and quietly climbed down from the building and went after the unseen being.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
                                                _ **Sunday, May, 14th 2180, 12:23 am**_

 

Having just taken the painting from Abraham Rumoi, Kasumi Goto ran to the dimly lit sidewalk, and then into the shadows.  

The master thief knew that Rumoi was catching up to her even she was cloaked, so she ran faster.

While sticking to the shadows, she got to the heavly darken wooded area of Central Park and continued through the woods being   
careful not to trip over any fallen branchs and twigs, until it would seem that another thief was no longer following her.

 

When it was safe, The thief  deloaked and went to the open, yet dimly and unoccupied area.

With the painting in her arms, she sat on the bench, thinking...

 

She couldn't believe it.   The master thief just couldn't believe she was right.

 

While back at the hotel, she had a gut feeling that Rumoi would get to the art gallery before her and remove the one thing she herself intended  
to steal for her own client.

From the moment she saw his  face while on the rooftop, It was him, and he had come back to steal the painting from the gallery for god-knows-why. 

 

But Kasumi wasn't angry though as she had encounted other thieves from time to time while on a job, so it wasn't anything new.   
But also wondered why the man she met at the art gallery would dare to risk his own career in the Alliace,  just to do so.

 

Maybe it's because he have a client who happens to be an art collector, like Douglas Waldman. Or maybe perhaps it was Waldman him self.

 

One thing Kasumi had to amit though, that she still found Rumoi very ruggedly handsome.  Especially when he's a thief wearing an Alliance uniform.

 

It didn't matter at the moment, She still needed to get the painting back to the hotel, and get it to her client. and it was not the time to   
allow the another thief's incredibly good looks to distract her from the job.

 

Kasumi picked up the painting and prepared to leave when suddenly, she heard a someone's foot breaking a small branch coming from   
the right side of the woods.

"Ah.. Dammit!" a man's voiced cursed out. 

 

Kasumi knew that voice. She setted the painting down next to the bench and went over to where the sound came from. and stopped.

 

Next she folded her arms to her chest and stood there a few feet from the wooded area.

 

"You can come out now, Mr. Rumoi," She called out. "And maybe we could talk things over."

 

Then the man reluctantly complied, walking slowly out of the wooded area of the park, finally showing his face as Kasumi remained still.

 

It was Abraham Rumoi.  He had managed to keep up with Kasumi on a pursuit, attending to retrieve the painting from her.

 

"Very cleaver." She said. " I truely never thought you would be able to catch up to me despite my best efforts."

 

"Your Best Efforts? Please....  you're the one who sat down for a moment." Rumoi replied. "Besides, I believe you have taken something that belongs to my client."

 

"You're client Huh? Who is he by the way?" Kasumi asked. "And what dose he want with the painting anyway?" 

 

"Look, I'm not telling you any details, Okay?" Rumoi shook his head. "All I'm asking  politely is that you hand over the painting and neither   
one of us will get hurt."

 

"Wow, For a hard-ass thief, You undoubtedly know when to use your very good manners when talking to a lady," She smiled deeply. "I bet alot of ladies would go   
for someone who is as hard-ass,  yet very polite and so ruggedly handsome as you Mr. Rumoi."

 

"Yeah well sorry to burst your bubble, 'Miss  Hood' but I'm really not your type, so frankly I not that kind of guy to be flirted with."

 

"Well That's okay with me because I'm not really your type either, and besides that, We're too easy for each other. So I suggest we both settle this here and now... And.... The only one who is standing gets to walk away with the painting...."

 

"Are you sure about this?" Rumoi saked. "I mean what if I end up tripping both of us accidently-"

 

"Don't you dare get all mushy on me, Mr. Rumoi,"  Kasumi resorted. "I'm not the gentle kind...."

 

"Alright,"  He said with a smirk. "You're on......"

 

Then the two thieves engaged into combat each other with a karate style, blocking and dodging each other's kicks and punchs and Kasumi   
managed to block and avoid Rumoi's kicks and blows, and just three times she threw Rumoi to the ground.

But Rumoi refused to give up, he got back on his feet and attacked the master thief the fourth time.

 

Then the male thief's omni-tool beeped. and both thieves ceased the battle.

 

"I've got a message," Rumoi said. "Just one moment while I get this."

 

He looked at his omni-tool and the utterly annoyed and irritated expression came to his face as he read the message.

 

Kasumi knew that Rumoi was not very happy.

 

"Well that really figures...." He sighed, shutting off his omni-tool.  

 

"What is it?,"  Kasumi asked. "What happend?"

 

"Remember when I told you about my client whom I was to deliver the painting to? Well he just sent me a email, telling   
call off the heist, saying that he dose not want it anymore."

 

"And after all the trouble you went though to get it," The master thief shook her head. "That really sucks."

 

"Yeah I know," Rumoi replied. "Listen, I better be going now, so if you want the painting, it's yours, or return it to the gallery."

 

"Alright, Mr. Rumoi," Kasumi replied. "But don't quit you day job, night job, whatever...."

 

The disappointed male thief nodded, He was about to leave when he heard Kasumi's omni-tool started beepping.

 

"Hang on," She said checking her omni-tool. "I've got a message too, and It's....... Oh.... My god........"

 

"What is it?" Rumoi asked with concern. 

 

"My Client, Mr. Douglas Waldman, who I was about to give the painting to,  has just been arrested..," She answeared.   
"For God-knows-why...."

 

"Speaking of which, He's a rival of my former client, Nathan Osborne...."

 

"So, Iv'e heard....."

 

Then Rumoi started giggling and burst out laughing as Kasumi looked at him with an annoyed look on her face.

 

"What the hell is so funny?" She asked. "We don't have any clients to give the painting to....."

 

"That's the point," Rumoi replied. "You don't have a client, I don't have a client, We're now stuck with this painting we stole  
from gallery with nobody to give it to."

 

"What do you mean 'We'? You're the one who took it first.."

 

"Yeah, Well you're who planned to steal the painting for your client, so when you found out I've got there first, You've distracted   
me and then took the painting when I wasn't looking "

 

Kasumi knew Rumoi was right, and there was no since of having a needless arguement with him about what traspired.  
So she shrugged and joined him in a laughter.

 

They both laughed for about two minutes until they slowly stopped.

 

Rumoi looked at Kasumi and noticed there was something familiar about her.

 

"Say, have we met before?" He asked "I get the feeling we did but I can't recall where."

 

It was that very moment that Kasumi decided to reveal herself more.

 

"Well, as I can recall," Kasumi said. "We talked about, The art gallery, New York, and your career in the Alliance Military...."

 

"Then you're Suki Kimoto," Rumoi said. "The woman I've met hours ago at the art gallery."

 

"Nice for you to notice that," She replied. "But Suki Kimoto is an alias I use. However my real name is Kasumi Goto."

 

"Kasumi Goto, The Kasumi Goto, the best thief in the galaxy?"

 

"Not the most famous," The thief replied.  "Need to watch my step to keep it that way."

 

"No kidding," Hs said. ""Then perhaps I should tell you that my real name is Keiji Okuda."

 

"Well then, it was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Okuda. By the way If you want to talk again, I'm staying at the Starlight Quest Hotel-"

 

"Same here by the way." Keiji smiled.

 

"Really?" She asked.

 

"Of cousre, And I'm wondering if you're interested in going out for a drink at the tavern within the walking distance, just 2 blocks from the hotel."

 

"That will be lovely Keiji, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

 

"Say do you mind if I walked you back to the hotel?" He asked. 

 

"Not at all," Kasumi answered, picking up the painting. 

 

The two thieves left Central Park together and went back to the hotel while sticking to the shadows.

 

End


End file.
